Social Media in the Public Sector Dissertation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Social Media in the Public Sector - Dissertation Example In the midst of Arab uprisings, the role of social media such as Twitter and Facebook and their utilization by the Government 2.0 goes largely ignored (Council on Foreign Relations, 2011). While some research has attempted to examine the use of social media in the private sector, little attention has been given to the use of social media by the Government 2.0 in Arab countries in controlling and channelizing the thought processes of Arab citizens and averting such uprisings as happened recently. Background Previously, the world was organized around the traditional system of messages communicated via a single knowledge repository to all stakeholders with little or no interaction ‘amongst’ these stakeholders (Evans, 2008). However, the contemporary networked world is just the opposite with two-way communication being the norm. Social media has played a significant role in the birth of the boundary less world, with ease of collaboration and interaction amongst participants (Evans & McKee, 2010). Recent uprisings in Arab countries are raising concerns about the need for government to interact with its citizens, listen to their concerns and respond to them (Idle & Nunns, 2011). Governments in UAE have introduced blueprints for social media for government organizations in line with the e-participation directives (Abdallah & Albadr, 2010). Research indicates that approximately 30% of government organizations in Dubai have successfully adopted the use of Web 2.0 and social media technology at their place of work and another 30% plan to do the same in the coming 3 years (Abdallah & Albadr, 2010). ... by Arab governments is a step further in the concept of â€Å"open governments† which is a people-oriented strategy, in line with principles of true democracy, which is reflected in long term partnerships between the government and the nation’s citizens at a holistic level (Andersen et al., 2010). The concept is to engage the citizens by using ICTs that enhance trust, collaboration and participation between the government and its citizens. The notion of e-government includes but is not limited to, e-participation, a term that recognizes that two-way communication can be efficiently achieved via social media technologies by allowing the user (citizen) to interact with the government in real time (Macintosh & Tambouris, 2009). 2. Aims and Objectives The aim of this research is to identify, describe, and critically analyze the factors responsible for the need for use of social media in the public sector and establish the significance of social media as a tool for fostering Government 2.0. The objectives are as follows: 1) to define the tools used by public sector government organizations under the umbrella of social media 2) To determine the most significant tool in social media adoption in Arab world 3) To determine the extent to which the economic impact of e-government can be established 4) To examine the benefits of an open government and the role of social media in promoting it 5) To examine the challenges of implementing the social media networking technology in the context of promoting Government 2.0 6) To establish the differences between countries that are promoting Government 2.0 and those that are not 3. Intellectual Challenge: Within private sector businesses, there is evidence of use of social media as a tool for enhancing communication with stakeholders